Chapter 5 [Return Home / Homecoming]
After Ryousuke and Louis hopped in the self-propelled car that awaited them at the foot of Mt. Shasta, they boarded a light aircraft at an airstrip that could not even be called an airport in the nearest town.
It was midnight by the time they arrived back in Vancouver.
It being so late, Ryousuke planned to report his return the next morning, but Charlotte mentioned to him while he was in the self-propelled car, that Lena was still awake, so instead of going back to the hotel, he tagged along with her to FEHR headquarters.
"Milady, I have just returned."
"I'm sorry for the worry."
After Ryousuke greeted Lena, Louis offered his apologies accompanied by a deep bow of his head.
"Louis, thank you for your hard work. Seeing that you're safe is what matters…"
Lena didn't blame Louis for his reckless action. Instead, she showed appreciation for his efforts with a tearful smile.
"Ryousuke, thank you for your assistance. Truly, thank you so much."
Lena then took Ryousuke's hand in hers with a deeply touched expression.
With his right hand wrapped between hers, Ryousuke lost both his words and his sense of reason.
After a few mumbled tries of "Ah," "Well,"
"…Er, no, it's all thanks to Milady's help."
He managed to squeeze out a coherent sentence.
"I should thank you also for putting yourself in harm's way."
Once he broke away from the lip service, his sincere words of gratitude overflowed.
"I don't think I could've gotten us out of that situation with my powers alone. It was thanks to you, Milady, that Louis and I were able to come back without any serious injuries."
"I had to do something after you courageously jumped into harm's way."
With an embarrassed expression, Lena withdrew her hands.
Rather than being disappointed, Ryousuke's attention was consumed by thoughts of how "cute" she was.
And then he immediately chastised himself for having the audacity to even think such a thing.
"—Louis, the thing."
In order to avoid further inexcusable thoughts, in a businesslike manner, Ryousuke turned his attention to more pressing matters.
Louis nodded, "Right," and lifted up the rucksack sitting on the floor. Inside was the white stone tablet. Ryousuke left the rucksack in his hands, thinking that, since it was Louis who had taken the stone tablet, he should be the one to report on it.
"…What is this?"
Lena asked out of curiosity, understandably so, when she saw the stone tablet.
The form is strikingly different from the Relics disclosed to the public so far. At first glance, it looked like a plain slab of marble.
However, she soon realized that it is not marble. The surface is almost completely white, something hardly seen with natural stones. But not the uniform white of an industrially processed veneer slab. Under a bright light, minute differences in luster can be seen in an intricate interplay.
"This is a stone tablet that FAIR dug out of a cave in Mt. Shasta."
"…It's quite beautiful. It doesn't seem to have any noticeable wear from being buried underground."
"Yes, I think it's more than an ordinary stone tablet. It may be a relic or a similar artifact."
Lena stared at the stone tablet once again with renewed interest.
"So, this is the artifact that FAIR was trying to get…?"
"No… I believe that FAIR's main interest was in another stone tablet that was unearthed along with this one."
Apologetic, Louis answered Lena's musings.
"There was another that is identical to this one?"
"Yes, albeit different. The other one was a black stone tablet."
"Is that so…"
After pondering for a moment, her eyes became downcast.
"…Even if that's the case, this stone tablet must be of some value if Laura Simon went through all that trouble to try and recover it."
Lena said this as she made eye contact with Louis.
"And, at the very least, the stone tablet has value as evidence. Thank you very much for your efforts, Louis."
"…Yes."
Lena's words were meant to comfort him, but he did not find them comforting.
Louis did feel a sense of relief though after understanding that they weren't meant to just merely comfort him.
Watching the exchange, Ryousuke thought, "That's Milady for you," feeling a bit enamored if not downright zealous.
◇ ◇ ◇
Laura reported to Dean the following morning.
She arrived back in San Francisco in the middle of the night, and at that hour, they would be sharing a bed. Dean, who has a penchant for sadism, would have taken the opportunity to berate the exhausted Laura if he had seen her. That would be troublesome.
"Laura, first of all, thank you for your service."
"No, anything for you, my lord."
After responding to Dean's words with a reverent bow, Laura presented the black stone tablet.
"So this is the fruit of your labor."
Dean inspected the stone tablet, turning it around two, three times, and then asked Laura, "What's this?"
"It's called the 'Guru's Stone Tablet' among us witches."
"The 'Guru's Stone Tablet,' huh? And what good is this thing?"
"The 'Guru's Stone Tablet' is a grimoire. It grants a powerful secret art to whoever possesses it."
"Oh, a secret art?"
"Yes. However, since this is the first time I have seen one in person, I would appreciate some time to investigate its usage and what kind of secret art it contains."
Laura bowed deeply before Dean.
"Let me know as soon as you find out."
Dean said this while holding out the stone tablet back to her.
"Thank you very much. I will ensure that I do not disappoint you, my lord."
Dean nodded with an "Of course," and then, as if suddenly remembering, added, "Oh, right."
"I heard there was another one of those stone tablets."
It was probably the members of the excavation team who got a jump on Laura and blurted it out. They probably were trying to curry favor with Dean by using the subject matter of Lena's scoring against them, rather than the fact that the stone tablet had been taken from them. It is an open secret within FAIR that Dean has a strong rivalry with Lena.
Laura, however, was unperturbed.
"The other one was not a 'Guru's Stone Tablet.'"
"But it could still have some value, couldn't it?"
"I have sensed that there are still more than a dozen of the same type of the white stone tablets buried in the cave in question. If you will allow me, I would like to order them dug out as well."
The corners of Dean's mouth lifted. His eyes flashed with greed.
"You have my permission. Arrange it as soon as possible."
"As you wish, my lord."
Laura stepped away from Dean, holding the "Guru's Stone Tablet" clutched to her chest.
◇ ◇ ◇
July 2nd, 11:00 A.M. local time, Vancouver International Airport.
The three of them, Mayumi, Mari, and Ryousuke, were to return to Japan on the noon flight. Having concluded the business entrusted by Tatsuya four days ago, their original plans would have them advance their return flight, but they were unable to do so due to the questioning regarding the attack in the restaurant parking lot.
"Mayumi, it's a shame to see you go."
"Please come to Japan sometime, Lena."
In the departure lobby, Mayumi and Lena, who had become good friends, bid farewells to each other.
"Excuse me, Miss Saegusa. Can I borrow Mr. Tookami for a moment?"
Interrupting their conversation, Charlotte spoke to Mayumi.
"Yes, that's fine. We've already finished the flight check-in."
Distracted by her conversation with Lena, Mayumi agreed without further consideration.
Mari looked a touch skeptical, but her job is to escort Mayumi. As for Ryousuke, he is outside of her purview. Thus, she did not interfere.
Ryousuke felt a bit disgruntled after being pulled away from Lena, but he obediently followed Charlotte. They came to a stop at a corner of the lobby, where Charlotte connected an earpiece to her terminal and held out the whole device to Ryousuke.
With a quizzical look on his face, Ryousuke plugged the earpiece in his ear. Then, as instructed by her gesture, he played the paused video file.
[Ryousuke, thank you so much for the other day.]
Ryousuke almost shouted out, but he stopped himself from blurting anything out. The voice on the recording was none other than Lena.
[And it really pains me to have to ask you for another favor after what you have gone through…]
Her expression and tone matched the content of the sentence.
(No need for reservations. Please, ask me anything!)
Ryousuke professed in his mind.
Considering the amount of passion he worked up, it may be commendable that he didn't raise his voice.
[In fact, it appears that the Mt. Shasta matter is still in progress. We turned over the stone tablet that you and Louis brought and the video taken by the private detective to the San Francisco Police Department and a copy of the video to the Siskiyou County Police, but so far there has been no noticeable action from either one. All the while, FAIR is still continuing their illegal digging operation.]
Ryousuke couldn't help but to click his tongue at the mention.
[We can't leave FAIR unattended on this matter. If we let them do as they please, something terrible will happen… That's how I feel. So, Ryousuke, when you return to Japan, could you please arrange for Mr. Shiba to have a meeting with me?]
In the end, Ryousuke uttered aloud, "What?" But his voice was low enough that it did not reach the ears of Mayumi and the others.
[Tell me the time, and I'll appear by your side with my astral body. I keep asking you for favors, I know, but I'd be very grateful if you could help me.]
Lena's video message ended here.
Ryousuke returned the terminal back to Charlotte.
"Lena didn't ask personally because she wanted to keep this from Miss Saegusa and company."
Charlotte told him this as she received the terminal.
Ryousuke nodded, "Of course, I know."
"Then please keep it that way."
Charlotte reminded him and returned to where Lena was talking with Mayumi.
Ryousuke followed closely behind.
On the way through the security checkpoint to the boarding gate, Ryousuke was asked by Mayumi about what his conversation was about.
In anticipation of this question, Ryousuke answered with a made-up story, "She passed a message from a guy I'm friends with over here, about something that would be embarrassing to explain to a young woman."
◇ ◇ ◇
The next morning, Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington.
Lina stood at the ramp of a transport plane, dressed in her federal military officer's uniform with her "Lina Brooks" ID card and passport in hand.
She was being seen off by Captain Ralph Hardy Mirfak, First Lieutenant Sophia Spica, and Colonel Benjamin Canopus, the Commander-in-Chief of Stars.
"Fifi, Hardy, and Ben too. Thank you for all your help. It was nice to be able to see you, even if it was only for a short time."
Lina held out her hand.
As she shook hands with each one, Sophia and Mirfak respectively, they said in turn, "Come again anytime," and "Take care."
And then Canopus said,
"Take care of yourself, Lina. If you need anything at all, call me. I will always be available to help you."
in turn.
These words conveyed a deep sense of friendship that went beyond professional relationships and interests. Lina wasn't particularly tearful, however.
"Thank you. You all too, take care."
Lina waved with a smile and boarded the transport plane.
Although it externally resembled a military transport aircraft, the inside was as well-equipped as a business-class airliner.
Leaning back in her cushioned seat, Lina looked out the window.
Perhaps noticing her gaze, Canopus and the others waved at her from a short distance away.
A feeling of reluctance to say goodbye welled up inside Lina only now, reminding her of the sentimentality she holds for her homeland.
She closed her eyes, resting in her seat, trying to keep the sentimentality bottled up inside.
And just like that, the transport plane with her onboard took off from American soil.
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